0
0.0
Jun 2, 2023
06/23
Jun 2, 2023
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 0
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY ANA / ELLEN / CAMP 🕮 It's June and that means LGBTQ+ Pride Month , the perfect time to talk to author A.J. Sass. Andrew Sass is known for writing middle grade books featuring respectful portrayals of trans and nonbinary characters, with neurodivergent and casual Jewish representation included as well. I was excited to talk with them about a few books: debut novel Ana on the Edge from...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, interview, LGBT, queer, nonbinary, trans
27
27
May 2, 2023
05/23
May 2, 2023
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 When I read Susan Lynn Meyer's middle grade novel, A Sky Full of Song , I was swept away by her descriptions of the North Dakota prairie and really touched by the characters' struggles with prejudice, assimilation, and identity. This story is one of those in which the specific is also the universal. It showcases a quintessential American experience and at he same time, a very Jewish...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, interview, author, historical fiction
9
9.0
Apr 2, 2023
04/23
Apr 2, 2023
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 9
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY KNAZAN / LUCIDO / PANITCH BOOKS 🕮 Jewish identity can be complicated, especially for people who come from a mixed background. We are starting to see this reality acknowledged in middle grade and young adult fiction, with characters who are working to figure out what being Jewish means to them, or who are trying to better integrate the different parts of their heritage; characters who don't...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, author interview
20
20
Mar 2, 2023
03/23
Mar 2, 2023
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 20
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Sarah Sassoon's debut picture book Shoham's Bangle (Kar-Ben) was named a 2023 Sydney Taylor Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries. Based on Sarah's family history, it's the story of a Jewish family's escape from Iraq to Israel, and a rare example of Mizrahi representation in kidlit. From Kar-Ben's description: Shoham wears a golden bangle on her wrist, just like her Nana...
Topics: podcast, Jewish, books, author interview, Mizrahi, Iraq
17
17
Jan 30, 2023
01/23
Jan 30, 2023
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 17
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT 🕮 The winners of the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, recognizing the best Jewish children's and young adult literature of the year, were announced on January 30, 2023 at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards event. Martha Seif Simpson is the current chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee, and she joined us to discuss the 2023 winners of the award. In these troubled times, when book banners are...
Topics: award, podcast, Jewish, author, kidlit, children's books
43
43
Jan 3, 2023
01/23
Jan 3, 2023
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 43
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 When the Angels Left the Old Country is Sacha Lamb's debut novel. It's a young adult historical queer fairy tale about an angel and a demon who immigrate together through Ellis Island to the Lower East Side of New York. From labor unions to dybbuks to a heist, this extremely Jewish tale has everything you need for a thoroughly satisfying adventure. Sacha is a 2018 Lambda Literary...
Topics: Jewish, books, author, interview, fantasy, queer, podcast
11
11
Dec 2, 2022
12/22
Dec 2, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 11
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY AROESTE / HODDER BOOKS 🕮 Sarah Aroeste is a singer/songwriter of Ladino music, a leader of Sephardic travel tours, and an author of board books featuring Sephardic culture and Ladino vocabulary. Bridget Hodder is a Sephardic author of middle grade and picture books, who frequently collaborates with Muslim author Fawzia Gilani-Williams ( past Book of Life guest, 2017 ) on stories about...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, author interview, Sephardic
14
14
Nov 1, 2022
11/22
Nov 1, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 14
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY BLUM / SCHEIER BOOKS 🕮 Representation of Orthodox Judaism has been virtually non-existent in traditionally published contemporary young adult fiction, but that is starting to change. In this episode, I spoke with Leah Scheier, author of The Last Words We Said published by Simon & Schuster, and Isaac Blum, author of The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, published by Philomel Books, an imprint of...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, kidlit, Orthodox, interview, books
28
28
Oct 2, 2022
10/22
Oct 2, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 28
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 The Very Best Sukkah: A Story from Uganda is Shoshana Nambi's debut picture book. She is a member of the Abayudaya, the Jewish community of Uganda, and is in the U.S. studying at Hebrew Union College to become the country's first female rabbi. This delightful story, rich with authentic detail, was named to the Association of Jewish Libraries' Fall 2022 Holiday Highlights list . We bring...
Topics: Jewish, Podcast, Kidlit, Interviews, Sukkot, Uganda, Abayudaya
27
27
Sep 1, 2022
09/22
Sep 1, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Sarah Darer Littman does not shy away from tough topics. Her middle grade and young adult novels address religious identity, internet predation, eating disorders, and online bullying. Her new YA novel, Some Kind of Hate , addresses radicalization and antisemitism. It's an important and all too timely book that helps readers understand how ordinary people can become radicalized...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, interview, antisemitism
15
15
Aug 4, 2022
08/22
Aug 4, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 15
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Detour Ahead is a contemporary middle grade novel about Gila and Guillermo and the way the H4 bus in Washington DC brings them together. Pamela Ehrenberg wrote the part of Gila, a neurodivergent white Jewish girl who loves breakdancing, and Tracy Lopez wrote Guillermo, a boy from a Salvadoran immigrant family who writes poetry. I was impressed by how well the two distinct voices wove together...
Topics: podcast, Jewish, books, interview, author, neurodiverse, Salvadoran
32
32
Jul 5, 2022
07/22
Jul 5, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 32
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT 🕮 Ten year old Hudson and thirteen year old Ellery are graduates of PJ Our Way's National Design Team. These two avid readers joined me to discuss their love of reading in general and Jewish books in particular, as well as the societal significance of Jewish literature, libraries, and censorship. To extend your virtual visit with these delightful young people, check out the links below. LEARN MORE: PJ Our Way Knitting...
Topics: Jewish, books, interview, podcast
14
14
Jun 16, 2022
06/22
Jun 16, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 14
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK IN ENGLISH or YIDDISH 🕮 You Be You, The Kid's Guide to Gender, Sexuality, and Family by Jonathan Branfman may not seem like an obvious choice for coverage on The Book of Life, but I was fascinated by the fact that it had been translated into Yiddish to make it accessible not only to scholars of modern Yiddish but to Hasidic families. Branfman brings both Jewish and gender expertise as a scholar...
Topics: Jewish, Yiddish, LGBT, queer, books, interview
20
20
Jun 2, 2022
06/22
Jun 2, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 20
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | JOIN UNITE AGAINST BOOK BANS 🕮 Recently, libraries and schools have been facing an outrageous number of book challenges. Jewish tradition encourages debate and the exchange of ideas, and to me, the attempted repression we are seeing right now is diametrically opposed to Jewish values and American values. Books about marginalized communities, including the Jewish community, have been targeted. Librarians...
Topics: books, podcast, interview, censorship, book banning
38
38
May 1, 2022
05/22
May 1, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 38
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Wayward Creatures by Dayna Lorentz is a heartfelt animal friendship story for middle grade readers, told from the points of view of both a troubled young Jewish boy and the wayward coyote he befriends after a forest fire changes both of their lives. A local restorative justice program helps Gabe learn the value of community and tikkun olam. This book takes place in the United States of...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, interview, restorative justice
25
25
Apr 3, 2022
04/22
Apr 3, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 25
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT 🕮 Regular listeners will remember my friend Susan Kusel, a librarian/bookseller/author who partners with me frequently to promote Jewish children's literature. In this episode, we discuss Holiday Highlights, a project we set up through the Association of Jewish Libraries. Our expert committee, Amy Lilien-Harper, Robbin Friedman, and Sylvie Shaffer, compile seasonal Holiday Highlights lists representing the best Jewish...
Topics: podcast, Jewish, books, interview, holidays, Passover
26
26
Mar 8, 2022
03/22
Mar 8, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 26
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 The Unfinished Corner, a National Jewish Book Awards finalist, is a graphic novel that challenges a bat mitzvah girl and her group of diverse Jewish friends to finish a corner of the universe left unfinished by God, in order to rid the world of evil. It's a bold premise, brilliantly carried out with a mix of ancient folklore and modern thinking. I was excited to speak with author Dani...
Topics: book, Jewish, podcast, interview, fantasy, graphic novel
22
22
Mar 8, 2022
03/22
Mar 8, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 22
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT 🕮 Today I've got a group interview for you, with three authors whose books each take a different and fascinating angle on dealing with grief. It's a difficult topic to talk about with young people but these books handle it with grace and sensitivity. Tyler Feder, author of the Sydney Taylor Book Award winning graphic memoir for young adults, Dancing at the Pity Party , middle grade novelist Emily Barth Isler, whose debut...
Topics: book, interview, Jewish, podcast
20
20
Feb 12, 2022
02/22
Feb 12, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 20
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT 🕮 Welcome to this special edition of The Book of Life, recorded as a part of the 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! Visit https://jewishlibraries.org/2022-blog-tour/ to find the full schedule of interviews with the gold and silver medalists, published February 7th to 11th, 2022 and available thereafter to read at your convenience. I had the pleasure of speaking with the gold medalists: Susan Kusel and Sean Rubin,...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, Sydney Taylor Book Award, interview
27
27
Feb 12, 2022
02/22
Feb 12, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT 🕮 Martha Seif Simpson is the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries. She joined us to discuss the 2022 winners of the award, which annually recognizes the best Jewish literature for children and teens. AJL is an affiliate of the American Library Association , so the Sydney Taylor Book Awards are announced at ALA's Youth Media Awards press conference, being...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, authors, awards, Sydney Taylor Book Award
25
25
Jan 2, 2022
01/22
Jan 2, 2022
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 25
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY LEE'S BOOK | BUY JEFF'S BOOK 🕮 For this episode I've paired Red and Green and Blue and White by Lee Wind with The Christmas Mitzvah by Jeff Gottesfeld. These two 2021 holiday picture books are both based on true stories of allyship and they have a lovely synergy. These two fine people have been Book of Life guests before: You may remember Jeff from February 2020 when he...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, interview, authors
27
27
Nov 1, 2021
11/21
Nov 1, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 In December 2018 I interviewed Emily Jenkins about her picture book All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah . Now Emily's back, in the guise of E. Lockhart, the pen name she uses for her young adult fiction, to talk about her graphic novel Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero , featuring a Jewish teen superhero with enhanced canine superpowers and a Great Dane sidekick named Lebowitz. This episode is...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, comics, interview, superhero
37
37
Oct 3, 2021
10/21
Oct 3, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 37
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 The Way Back is a strange and wonderful, life-affirming story about death, an adventure in which Bluma and Yehuda Lieb set out from the shtetl on a quest into the Far Country peopled by demons. It won the National Jewish Book Award in the young adult category and was named a Sydney Taylor YA Notable Book. It's a crossover book that will appeal to adults as well as YA readers. I am pleased to bring...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, author, interview
34
34
Sep 1, 2021
09/21
Sep 1, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 34
favorite 0
comment 0
READ THE TRANSCRIPT | VISIT READ IN COLOR 🕮 Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges. Here's an interview with Margret Aldrich, Director of Communications at the Little Free Library organization. We'll find out how this phenomenon got started, and we'll learn about how Jewish books are being included in their Read In Color program. And as...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, library, libraries, interview
45
45
Aug 9, 2021
08/21
Aug 9, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 45
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good by Nancy Werlin is a coming of age story with a Jewish protagonist, about the power of fandom, friendship, and finding your inner nerd. Speaking of fandom, be sure to check out my guest spot on the August episode of the podcast Star Trek and the Jews! Link below. LEARN MORE: Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good Nancy Werlin's website Casual Jewish...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, author, interview
24
24
Jul 5, 2021
07/21
Jul 5, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 24
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Esther Safran Foer and Sadie Foer joined me in May 2021 for a podcast Live Show sponsored by The Jewish Grandparents Network in celebration of the opening of their Family Room. Esther Safran Foer is a past CEO of Sixth & I and the author of I Want You To Know We’re Still Here, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. She is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, the wife of Bert Foer...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, interview, author
51
51
Jun 13, 2021
06/21
Jun 13, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 51
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 June is Pride Month, so I'm pleased to bring you The New Queer Conscience , a 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book in the Young Adult category. It's a manifesto by young activist Adam Eli, that holds up k'lal yisrael , or Jewish solidarity, as a model for the queer community to emulate. For queer kidlit with identifiably Jewish characters, see the Diverse Jewish Kidlit page within the READ section of The...
Topics: Jewish, Books, podcast, author, interview, queer, LGBT
22
22
May 10, 2021
05/21
May 10, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 22
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK May is Jewish American Heritage Month and Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. We celebrate both on The Book of Life by talking to Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang, co-authors of This Is Just a Test and Not Your All-American Girl , a pair of middle grade novels set in the 1980's that feature a Jewish Chinese American family. I also want to take this opportunity to welcome new Patreon...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, author, interview
31
31
Apr 18, 2021
04/21
Apr 18, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 31
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Ambika Sambasivan is the co-founder and publisher at Yali Books, which opens a window to South Asia –India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives —and invites the rest of the world to learn more about the incredible diversity of this region. Maxine Rose Schur is the author of Brave with Beauty , a picture book biography of the the 15th century Queen...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, kidlit, diversity
27
27
Mar 19, 2021
03/21
Mar 19, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 Linda Elovitz Marshall was excited to get her COVID-19 shot, and back in the day she was glad to be vaccinated for polio too. That gratitude led her to create the picture book biography The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine illustrated by Lisa Anchin, a 2020 Sydney Taylor Notable Book. Listen to our wide-ranging conversation about polio, COVID, writing, Passover, and baby lambs....
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, interview, polio, COVID-19
33
33
Mar 7, 2021
03/21
Mar 7, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 33
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT PART 1 PART 2 | BUY THE BOOK 🕮 My good friend Susan Kusel has been on the podcast before, to talk about The Sydney Taylor Shmooze , and to announce the Sydney Taylor Book Award winners in 2018 and 2019 . She also appeared in Beyond the Holocaust and Holidays , a 2019 episode about the Highlights Foundation's writing symposium, and in the 2020 episode The Mitzvah of Voting: Part 1 . This time she's here...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, author, interview, Passover
22
22
Feb 16, 2021
02/21
Feb 16, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 22
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | BUY BOOKS 🕮 Aviva Brown is the author of Ezra's BIG Shabbat Question and Not Now, Mara! These picture books portray Jewish children of color without making a big deal about it, something we don't see often enough in kidlit. Listen to Aviva as she talks about her inspiration, about self publishing, and about winning Mother of the Year Award for the state of North Carolina. LEARN MORE: Aviva Brown's website Mother of...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
28
28
Feb 3, 2021
02/21
Feb 3, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 28
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT 🕮 Rebecca Levitan is the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries. She joined us to discuss the 2021 winners of the award, which annually recognizes the best Jewish literature for children and teens. AJL is an affiliate of the American Library Association, so the Sydney Taylor Book Awards are announced at ALA's Youth Media Awards press conference, being held...
Topics: podcast, books, Jewish, Sydney Taylor Book Award
22
22
Jan 3, 2021
01/21
Jan 3, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 22
favorite 0
comment 0
The Sydney Taylor Shmooze is a mock book award blog that reviews Jewish children's and teen literature and invites readers to vote for the titles that they think will win the Sydney Taylor Book Award. In the last episode of The Book of Life, I spoke with my fellow admins of The Shmooze, Susan Kusel and Chava Pinchuck, about the whys and hows of this project. We also heard some good advice from the folks at other mock award blogs: Calling Caldecott, Heavy Medal, and Guessing Geisel, but we...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, award
20
20
Jan 3, 2021
01/21
Jan 3, 2021
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 20
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT | VOTE FOR MOCK AWARDS 🕮 The Sydney Taylor Shmooze is a mock award blog created in Spring 2020 by Susan Kusel, Chava Pinchuck, and me, in order to encourage discussion of Jewish children's and teen literature eligible for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. In this podcast episode, Susan and Chava join me to talk about how it's going and about how YOU can vote for the mock awards. We also get some advice from other mock...
Topics: podcast, books, Jewish, award
24
24
Dec 18, 2020
12/20
Dec 18, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 24
favorite 0
comment 0
Daveed Digg's "Puppy for Hanukkah" video makes a great model for creating terrific Jewish children's books! LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-puppy-test.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, diversity, #ownvoices
30
30
Dec 6, 2020
12/20
Dec 6, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 30
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT: PART 1 PART 2 | BUY THE BOOK The City of Light is an unusual collaboration between the late Theodore Bikel and his wife Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, based on an autobiographical short story left behind by the noted actor, singer, and activist. I spoke at length to the spirited and charming Aimee, who is a wonderful storyteller in her own right. LEARN MORE: Aimee Ginsburg Bikel's website Theodore Bikel's website The...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
26
26
Nov 21, 2020
11/20
Nov 21, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 26
favorite 0
comment 0
2010 Association of Jewish Libraries conference, Seattle, WA A panel of experienced book reviewers share their views on the craft of constructing a useful review, on differences between reviewing for children and or adults, on unique issues in reviewing Judaica, and more Author(s): Rabinowitz, Heidi Pinchuck, Kathe Cole, Ellen Silverman, Lisa Soltan, Rita Conference: 2010 Conference Proceedings Files: Podcast
Topics: Podcast, books, libraries, Jewish
46
46
Nov 9, 2020
11/20
Nov 9, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 46
favorite 0
comment 0
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST | READ THE TRANSCRIPT Anya and the Dragon is Sofiya Pasternak's debut, a middle grade Jewish historical fantasy novel. It was recognized by a 2020 Sydney Taylor Honor Award. It will be joined on November 10, 2020 by a sequel, Anya and the Nightingale. Join me for a fascinating conversation with Sofiya about the history behind the fantasy. LEARN MORE: Sofiya Pasternack's website Buy Anya and the Dragon Buy Anya and the Nightingale Sofiya's suggestion for...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
26
26
Oct 14, 2020
10/20
Oct 14, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 26
favorite 0
comment 0
Welcome to the third and final entry in our series, The Mitzvah of Voting. It's October 2020 your favorite Jewish kidlit authors want all eligible US citizens to vote in the upcoming Presidential election, and listeners around the world to vote in their own local elections. My author guests will be sharing why they vote and they'll give you some recommendations for ways to keep democracy healthy. This time, we will leave you with some musical inspiration to carry you through Election Day....
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, voting, authors
38
38
Oct 14, 2020
10/20
Oct 14, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 38
favorite 0
comment 0
Welcome to Part 2 of our 3 part series, The Mitzvah of Voting. It's October 2020 your favorite Jewish kidlit authors want all eligible US citizens to vote in the upcoming Presidential election, and listeners around the world to vote in their own local elections! My author guests will be sharing why they vote and they'll give you some recommendations for ways to keep democracy healthy. Listen to PART 1 | PART 3 Guest authors include: Elissa Brent Weissman , author of The Length of a String Lee...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, voting, authors
32
32
Oct 14, 2020
10/20
Oct 14, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 32
favorite 0
comment 0
This episode is a call to action for U.S. citizens eligible to vote, and a reminder to listeners everywhere that voting is your superpower. If you are a U.S. citizen eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, please do so! For information about how to vote, visit VOTE.ORG . In this special 3-part series, some of your favorite Jewish kidlit authors will be sharing why they vote and they'll give some recommendations for ways to keep our democracy healthy. Listen to PART 2 | PART 3 ...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, voting, authors
28
28
Oct 11, 2020
10/20
Oct 11, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 28
favorite 0
comment 0
For this "Pond Life" episode, I paired the books Turtle Boy with Fish Out of Water , to highlight the similar themes I saw in both middle grade bar mitzvah novels. Wonderfully, authors Joanne Levy and Evan Wolkenstein really hit it off and they actually helped to interview each other! And a shout-out to Sidura Ludwig for becoming a Book of Life supporter at Patreon.com ! Learn More: Joanne Levy's website Evan Wolkenstein's website Pardes Center for Jewish Educators curriculum for...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, authors, interview
31
31
Sep 7, 2020
09/20
Sep 7, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 31
favorite 0
comment 0
Muslim author Saadia Faruqui and Jewish author Laura Shovan joined me to talk about their jointly written middle grade contemporary novel, A Place at the Table. This is a book about immigration, about friendship, and it will make you hungry. Learn More Saadia Faruqi Laura Shovan Bonus recipes Blue Minaret Poem "My Best Friend is Jewish" Poetry Friday Guest Recommendations: Boosting Black Voices Saadia suggests Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin, Your Name Is a Song by...
Topics: Jewish, Muslim, books, podcast
22
22
Aug 25, 2020
08/20
Aug 25, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 22
favorite 0
comment 0
Back in August 2006, author/illustrator Simms Taback was a guest on The Book of Life. He spoke about his classic picture book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat and his newer picture book Kibitzers and Fools . After the interview, he painted me the picture you see above of a dancing man with an iPod. In 2020, the dancing man returned to me in a new form as a crocheted doll! I was so impressed that I invited Patti, the artist, to be a guest on the podcast. Multi-talented mensch Patricia Portillo is an...
Topics: podcast, books, crafts, art, Jewish, video
33
33
Aug 9, 2020
08/20
Aug 9, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 33
favorite 0
comment 0
No Vacancy is Tziporah Cohen's debut middle grade novel. It's a story of friendship across boundaries, the importance of community as a bulwark against prejudice... and a Virgin Mary sighting. Tziporah's Tikkun Olam suggestion: Barbershop Books Tziporah's Recommendations for Boosting Black Voices Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK (Affiliate link, support the podcast and independent booksellers) CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
28
28
Jul 19, 2020
07/20
Jul 19, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 28
favorite 0
comment 0
This episode is all about grandparents. We hear from David Raphael, co-founder of the Jewish Grandparents Network, and we enjoy the audiobook Bubbe & Zaide , written and voiced by Anne-Marie Asner along with the famous actor Ed Asner as Zaide. You may remember Anne-Marie from our December 2019 episode, when she told us about her Yiddish-inspired picture book series, Matzah Ball Books. Learn more: Jewish Grandparents Network Pop Up Stories Bubbe & Zaide by Anne-Marie Asner Matzah...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, grandparents
30
30
Jun 28, 2020
06/20
Jun 28, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 30
favorite 0
comment 0
Heidi Rabinowitz is joined by Lee Wind, author of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill, blogger at I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? and Heidi's partner in AJL's Through the Window diversity exchange. See https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/06/through-window-lee-wind.html for extensive links to more information.
Topics: Podcast, Jewish, books, queer, diversity
44
44
May 17, 2020
05/20
May 17, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 44
favorite 0
comment 0
Gail Carson Levine is the author of more than 20 book for young readers and adult writers, including the Newbery Honor book Ella Enchanted , which was made into a major motion picture. Her new middle grade book A Ceiling Made of Eggshells is a historical novel about a Jewish family during the Spanish Inquisition, based on Gail's own family history. During our interview, I asked Gail about her house, which she describes on her website. You can learn more about her lovely home here . CLICK HERE...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, Inquisition
24
24
Apr 29, 2020
04/20
Apr 29, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 24
favorite 0
comment 0
Author Amy Grossblatt Pessah talks about her book Parenting on a Prayer: Ancient Jewish Secrets for Raising Modern Children, in the final installment of The Book of Life's special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/04/parenting-on-prayer-books-in-time-of.html
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, parenting
32
32
Apr 27, 2020
04/20
Apr 27, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 32
favorite 0
comment 0
David B. Levy shares his family genealogy in Gluskin Family History on The Book of Life's special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus. CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast ...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
29
29
Apr 23, 2020
04/20
Apr 23, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 29
favorite 0
comment 0
Author Michelle Cameron discusses her historical novel Beyond the Ghetto Gates on The Book of Life's special series Books in the Time of Coronavirus. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/04/beyond-ghetto-gates-books-in-time-of.html
Topics: books, Jewish, podcast
35
35
Apr 20, 2020
04/20
Apr 20, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 35
favorite 0
comment 0
Bernice Lerner talks about her adult nonfiction title All the Horrors of War: A Jewish Girl, a British Doctor, and the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen as part of The Book of Life's special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus. And a special shout out to Dianne Siekmann for becoming a monthly supporter of the show at Patreon.com/bookoflife.
Topics: podcast, Jewish, books
32
32
Apr 14, 2020
04/20
Apr 14, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 32
favorite 0
comment 0
Erika Dreifus shares her poetry collection Birthright, as part of the Books in the Time of Coronavirus series on The Book of Life Podcast. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/04/birthright-books-in-time-of-coronavirus.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
32
32
Apr 12, 2020
04/20
Apr 12, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 32
favorite 0
comment 0
Author Jeremy Benstein talks about his book Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes, as part of The Book of Life's special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/04/hebrew-roots-jewish-routes-books-in.html
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
31
31
Apr 6, 2020
04/20
Apr 6, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 31
favorite 0
comment 0
Sidura Ludwig shares her short story collection, You Are Not What We Expected, as part of The Book of Life's special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/04/you-are-not-what-we-expected-books-in.html
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
23
23
Apr 2, 2020
04/20
Apr 2, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 23
favorite 0
comment 0
Lesléa Newman shares her picture book Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail in The Book of Life's special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/04/welcoming-elijah-books-in-time-of.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
27
27
Mar 30, 2020
03/20
Mar 30, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
"Books in the Time of Coronavirus" special series on The Book of Life Podcast: Worse and Worse on Noah's Ark by Leslie Kimmelman. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/03/worse-and-worse-on-noahs-ark-books-in.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, coronavirus
38
38
Mar 30, 2020
03/20
Mar 30, 2020
by
Heidi Rabiniowitz
audio
eye 38
favorite 0
comment 0
Books in the Time of Coronavirus special series: No Entry by Gila Green. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/03/no-entry-books-in-time-of-coronavirus.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, coronavirus
26
26
Mar 26, 2020
03/20
Mar 26, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 26
favorite 0
comment 0
Today my husband Matthew joins me to help me run a Book of Life "Family Meeting." We've got a lot on the agenda. Listen for all the details and click the links below to get more information. Books in the Time of Coronavirus Love Your Neighbor List #6: Passover Stand Up Transcripts - click on the transcript link for each episode Support Feedback Jewish Kidlit Mavens The Sydney Taylor Shmooze The Book of Life Trailer We will soon be bringing you recordings from authors whose spring...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
17
17
Feb 25, 2020
02/20
Feb 25, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 17
favorite 0
comment 0
An interview with Jeff Gottesfeld, author of No Steps Behind: Beate Sirota Gordon's Battle for Women's Rights in Japan. CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
27
27
Jan 27, 2020
01/20
Jan 27, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
Rebecca Levitan is the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries. She joined us to discuss the 2020 winners of the award, which annually recognizes the best Jewish literature for children and teens. This is the second year that the Sydney Taylor Book Awards will be announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards press conference, being held this year in Philadelphia, PA during the ALA Midwinter Meeting on January 27, 2020 at 8am ET. For the first time, the...
Topics: podcast, Jewish, books, award
29
29
Jan 13, 2020
01/20
Jan 13, 2020
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 29
favorite 0
comment 0
An interview with three authors of Yiddish-related kidlit: Sue Macy (The Book Rescuer), Debbie Levy (Yiddish Saves the Day), and Valerie Estelle Frankel (Chelm for the Holidays). Find the full show notes, including a long list of Yiddish-related kidlit titles, at The Book of Life at https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-bisl-yiddish-bikher-fur-kinder.html .
Topics: podcast, Jewish, books
26
26
Dec 15, 2019
12/19
Dec 15, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 26
favorite 0
comment 0
ANNOUNCING: The World Premiere of the audiobook version of Hanukkah with Noshy Boy & Friends by Anne-Marie Asner, voiced by Anne-Marie Asner and Ed Asner (yes, that Ed Asner!), on The Book of Life Podcast! Plus, we've got an interview with Anne-Marie about the story's creation! Noshy Boy, Schmutzy Girl, Kvetchy Boy, and their other friends are characters in a series from Matzah Ball Books , which shares Yiddish vocabulary and culture with young children through humor. CLICK HERE TO READ THE...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, Hanukkah, Chanukah
55
55
Dec 5, 2019
12/19
Dec 5, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 55
favorite 1
comment 0
On The Book of Life, we talk a lot about Jewish kidlit. But where do you go to find Jewish children's books? In this episode, Marjorie Ingall joins me to talk about how to discover and how to access the best Jewish kidlit. Marjorie is a columnist at Tablet Magazine and is well-known for her year-end "best of Jewish kidlit" lists, and she's the author of Mamaleh Knows Best : What Jewish Mothers Do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children , which was...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, kidlit
23
23
Nov 20, 2019
11/19
Nov 20, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 23
favorite 0
comment 0
The 100 Most Jewish Foods, a Highly Debatable List, started as a fun interactive feature on the website of Tablet Magazine, and then grew up to be a book. We've got an interview for you with the book's editor, Alana Newhouse, by The Book of Life's Canadian Correspondent, Anne Dublin. B'tay avon...good appetite! CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-100-most-jewish-foods.html
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books, food
21
21
Nov 3, 2019
11/19
Nov 3, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 21
favorite 0
comment 0
Honeycake Magazine is a new Jewish magazine for kids ages 2 to 6. Creator Anna Caplan guest posted on The Book of Life about the magazine in May 2019. Now here's our podcast interview, in which I spoke to Anna about her inspiration for Honeycake and her plans for its future. Want your own copy of Honeycake? Go to HoneycakeMagazine.com and click on the Get the Magazine button . Order by November 17, 2019 to get your copy in time for Hanukkah. CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CREDITS: Produced...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, magazine, children, kidlit
18
18
Oct 15, 2019
10/19
Oct 15, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 18
favorite 0
comment 0
We are in a golden age of picture book biographies, and one prolific biographer is Nancy Churnin . She's got half a dozen bios out and more on the way, and each one is inspiring in its own way. Nancy attended the 2019 Association of Jewish Libraries conference to take part in the author luncheon, where she represented her Jewish interest books, Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing , and Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Anne Frank . I was...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, biography, interview
20
20
Sep 23, 2019
09/19
Sep 23, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 20
favorite 0
comment 0
In May 2019 I posted an interview with Jonathan Auxier , the author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster . In our interview we talked about the book, of course, but we also talked about our favorite board games. I met Jonathan at the 2019 Association of Jewish Libraries conference where he'd come to accept his Sydney Taylor Book Award, and we got to play one of those games together along with a roomful of other authors, illustrators, and librarians. Here's your chance to listen in as...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, games, author, illustrator
18
18
Sep 19, 2019
09/19
Sep 19, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 18
favorite 0
comment 0
At the 2019 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Los Angeles, California, we recorded a Book of Life live show. My guests were Joni Sussman of KarBen Publishing , and author/illustrator/musician Barney Saltzberg . We discussed picture book illustration while recording our conversation in front of a live audience of Judaica librarians. At the live show, I mentioned the new Listener Survey . Please take a moment to share your feedback to help me make the show the best it can be. FYI,...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, illustration, interview
21
21
Aug 25, 2019
08/19
Aug 25, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 21
favorite 0
comment 0
Sadaf Siddique and Gauri Manglick are the co-creators of Kitaab World , a website that promotes South Asian children's books. Within their website, they created a campaign called Counter Islamophobia Through Stories , (similar to the Love Your Neighbor campaign that I worked on to help bring Jewish books to ALL readers), and they even turned their campaign into a book called Muslims in Story . Listen now as Sadaf joins me to talk about the kidlit of our sister religion! CLICK HERE TO READ THE...
Topics: Podcast, Jewish, books, kidlit, Muslim, Islam
41
41
Aug 8, 2019
08/19
Aug 8, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 41
favorite 0
comment 0
Young Aria is a voracious reader. In this interview, she shares a few of her favorite titles: All Kinds of Strong by Sharon Reiss Baker Zishe the Strongman by Robert Rubinstein Brave Girl : Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel Gittel's Journey : An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman The Harriet Hamsterbone series CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel ...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, kidlit
35
35
Jul 10, 2019
07/19
Jul 10, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 35
favorite 0
comment 0
Anne Dublin is a Toronto-based author and retired synagogue librarian. She is the Canadian Correspondent for The Book of Life Podcast, performing many of our interviews with Canadian creatives. She's also the author of A Cage Without Bars , a historical middle grade novel that tells the little-known tale of Jewish children kidnapped after the expulsion from Spain and enslaved on the island of São Tomé, off the coast of West Africa. CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE...
Topics: podcast, books, Jewish
4,399
4.4K
Jun 13, 2019
06/19
Jun 13, 2019
A podcast about Jewish books, music, film, and web, but especially kidlit, podcasting since 2005 at www.bookoflifepodcast.com
Topics: podcast, Jewish, interview, books
31
31
Jun 13, 2019
06/19
Jun 13, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 31
favorite 0
comment 0
Natalie Silverstein is the New York volunteer coordinator of Doing Good Together , an organization that empowers families to raise caring, engaged children. She wrote Simple Acts: The Busy Family's Guide to Giving Back to give parents practical ideas for incorporating service and the spirit of giving into family life. CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST NEWS: The podcast Kidlit These Days honors Jewish American Heritage Month by interviewing...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, interview
24
24
Jun 4, 2019
06/19
Jun 4, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 24
favorite 0
comment 0
Craig Taubman is a long-time star in the world of American Jewish rock and roll, and the founder of the Pico Union Project . Mostly Kosher is an up and coming Gypsy Rock Klezmer band whose tagline is “word to your bubbe.” In spring 2019, Craig Taubman brought along Mostly Kosher and together they put on a foot-stomping concert at Congregation B’nai Israel , the home of The Book of Life podcast. That gave me the chance to grab this interview, and even to include the voice of...
Topics: Jewish, books, music, podcast, klezmer
44
44
May 1, 2019
05/19
May 1, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 44
favorite 1
comment 0
May 1 is May Day , the chimney sweeps’ holiday. It’s the perfect day to bring you a podcast about Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier . The book introduces us to Nan, a chimney climber, and her golem friend Charlie, a creature made of soot. This middle grade novel won the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish children’s books, along with numerous other literary awards. In this lush, dense interview, Jonathan gives us much to think about! Here are...
Topics: podcast, books, Jewish
30
30
Apr 17, 2019
04/19
Apr 17, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 30
favorite 1
comment 0
The Length of a String won a 2019 Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers Category. It's a middle grade novel about Imani, an adopted black Jewish girl who wants to learn about her birth parents. When she inherits a Holocaust-era diary from her Jewish great-grandmother, she begins to see family in a whole new way. I spoke to author Elissa Brent Weissman by Skype. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-length-of-string.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
23
23
Apr 1, 2019
04/19
Apr 1, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 23
favorite 0
comment 0
Paula Shoyer is known as The Kosher Baker . I met her at Limmud , a one day conference of Jewish learning on a wide variety of topics, held in December 2018 in Boca Raton, Florida. Paula was there to present two sessions: " Are Your Jewish Holiday Meals Dangerous? " and " Jewish Cookbooks Tell Our Stories ." We sat down between sessions in the breezy courtyard for this interview. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-kosher-baker.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
16
16
Mar 20, 2019
03/19
Mar 20, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 16
favorite 0
comment 0
Craig Taubman is coming to Congregation B'nai Israel in Boca Raton! If you will be in South Florida, don't miss this show! Call 561-241-8118 for tickets or BUY TICKETS HERE . Listen to a special message from Craig now, and keep an eye on The Book of Life for an upcoming full-length interview! https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/03/craig-taubman-is-coming-to-town.html
Topics: Jewish, books, music, podcast
26
26
Mar 12, 2019
03/19
Mar 12, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 26
favorite 0
comment 0
The Book of Life’s Canadian Correspondent Anne Dublin spoke to author Anne Renaud after she won the 2018 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Fania’s Heart , a Holocaust picture book for older readers. It’s the true story of a heart-shaped birthday card created in Auschwitz at great personal risk by women prisoners, from scraps of fabric, stolen materials, and glue made out of bread and water, for the 20 th birthday of fellow prisoner Fania Landau Fainer. The real heart is now in the...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
19
19
Feb 27, 2019
02/19
Feb 27, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 19
favorite 0
comment 0
Before I moved from Massachusetts back to Florida, I visited with Jane Yolen and Barbara Diamond Goldin to talk about their joint book of original feminist midrash, Meet Me at the Well: The Girls and Women of the Bible . We sat down in Jane’s sunny kitchen and they just let it all pour out; I hardly needed to ask any questions! I’d love to hear about YOUR favorite Biblical women, so please do call our voicemail at 561-206-2473 or leave a comment at bookoflifepodcast.com ....
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
18
18
Jan 31, 2019
01/19
Jan 31, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 18
favorite 0
comment 0
Susan Kusel is the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries. She joined us by Skype from her home in Falls Church, VA. to talk about the 2019 winners of the award (and so did her dog Harry). This year's Sydney Taylor Book Awards are being announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards press conference in Seattle, WA during the ALA Midwinter Meeting on January 28, 2019 at 8am PT. You can watch a live webcast here (and check back later for a...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
39
39
Jan 6, 2019
01/19
Jan 6, 2019
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 39
favorite 0
comment 0
"Beyond the Holocaust and Holidays: Who Are We and What Are We Writing?" is a symposium for Jewish children's literature, welcoming novelists and publishing professionals to Honesdale, PA, March 15-18, 2019. ( Click here for info on scholarships .) A stellar faculty will lead discussions on issues both practical and philosophical. For this episode of The Book of Life, we've gathered four of those faculty members for our own discussion: Adam Gidwitz , author of The Inquisitor's Tale ,...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, writing
20
20
Dec 20, 2018
12/18
Dec 20, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 20
favorite 0
comment 0
Hillary Saxton is a children's librarian at the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Public Library , and the creator of the event series "Stand Up! Storytime for Social Justice." She was originally scheduled to participate in the " Social Justice and Jewish Children's Books " panel at the Association of Jewish Libraries conference, featured on The Book of Life in August 2018. She was sick and couldn't make it, so I caught up with her later by Skype. Find the titles used in the 2017-18...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
39
39
Dec 2, 2018
12/18
Dec 2, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 39
favorite 0
comment 0
Remember All-of-a-Kind Family ? It's the classic chapter book by Sydney Taylor, of five sisters living on the Lower East Side in the early 20th century. Now Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky have created an original picture book based on those same characters, All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah . Illustrator Zelinsky attended the 2018 Association of Jewish Libraries conference where he gave us a sneak peek at his artistic process, as you can see in the photo below. I snagged his email address and...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast, Hanukkah, Chanukah
24
24
Nov 20, 2018
11/18
Nov 20, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 24
favorite 0
comment 0
At the 2018 Association of Jewish Libraries conference, I bumped into author Jacqueline Jules . She's been on the podcast before in 2014 to talk about Never Say a Mean Word Again . Her new picture book is Light the Menorah: A Hanukkah Handbook , which offers meditations for candle lighting. We grabbed a quick interview after lunch in the busy dining hall, so you will have a "you are there" experience listening to our conversation about this wonderful new holiday book!...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
31
31
Nov 8, 2018
11/18
Nov 8, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 31
favorite 0
comment 0
Jane Breskin Zalben is an artist/illustrator and the author of over 50 books for children. Her recent picture book, A Moon for Moe and Mo , was featured in the Missing Voice picture book discussion group on Facebook in September 2018. The Missing Voice group was created by another author, Lisa Rose , to bring books about under-represented populations into the limelight. You may be familiar with Lisa's book, Shmulik Paints the Town . I spoke with Jane and Lisa by conference call, in...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
31
31
Nov 8, 2018
11/18
Nov 8, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 31
favorite 0
comment 0
The Girl with the Red Balloon is a magical time travel, historical fiction, kind-of-sort-of Holocaust book that won a Sydney Taylor Honor in the Teen Readers Category for 2018. I met the author, Katherine Locke , at the Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Boston, where we snuck into a side room to talk – please excuse the faint hubbub coming from outside. We discussed not only Katherine’s book, but also her article on Medium.com, “ Thinking about Jewish Children’s...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
25
25
Nov 8, 2018
11/18
Nov 8, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 25
favorite 0
comment 0
Before I moved back to Florida from Massachusetts, my friend Barbara Bietz , author of The Sundown Kid: A Southwestern Shabbat , came to Amherst, MA for a workshop about Jewish kidlit. We got together while she was in town and recorded our conversation for you. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-sundown-kid.html
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
23
23
Nov 8, 2018
11/18
Nov 8, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 23
favorite 0
comment 0
American Golem: The New Adventures of an Old World Mud Monster by Marc Lumer is a new picture book from Apples & Honey Press. I ran into Vicki Weber of Behrman House (the parent company of Apples & Honey) at the Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Boston, MA this June, and grabbed a quick interview about American Golem . You'll notice the loud buzz of conference-goers in the background because we spoke in the dining room after lunch. Hopefully, that will give you a...
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
23
23
Aug 12, 2018
08/18
Aug 12, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 23
favorite 0
comment 0
On Monday June 18, 2018 at the 53rd annual conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries in Boston, MA, Book of Life Host Heidi Rabinowitz participated in a panel discussion of "Social Justice and Jewish Children's Books." Other panelists included author Lesléa Newman , and Horn Book editors Shoshana Flax and moderator Elissa Gershowitz . www.bookoflifepodcast.com
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
18
18
Aug 12, 2018
08/18
Aug 12, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 18
favorite 0
comment 0
Susan Kusel makes the official Sydney Taylor Book Award announcement with the full list of winners, honors, and notable books: click here www.bookoflifepodcast.com
Topics: Jewish, books, podcast
19
19
Aug 12, 2018
08/18
Aug 12, 2018
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 19
favorite 0
comment 0
Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Chair Susan Kusel thanks the hardworking committee in this teaser for the upcoming announcement of 2018 winners.
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
21
21
Dec 15, 2017
12/17
Dec 15, 2017
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 21
favorite 0
comment 0
In this twelfth anniversary episode of The Book of Life, we hear from listeners and past guests about some of their favorite interviews. If we missed YOUR favorite, check out the right-hand sidebar at bookoflifepodcast.com for past episodes or go to the Internet Archive at archive.org/details/@TBOL .
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
24
24
Dec 3, 2017
12/17
Dec 3, 2017
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 24
favorite 1
comment 0
I convened a virtual roundtable among the creators of two books related to The Ethics of the Fathers, aka the Pirkei Avot. Goodness knows, this is a time when the world needs moral guidance! Why not turn to ancient and modern teachings of Judaism for help? I spoke with Jessica Deutsch, creator of The Illustrated Pirkei Avot: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Ethics , and with Lois Shenker and Rabbi Eve Posen, co-authors of Pirkei Imahot: The Wisom of Mothers, The Voices of Women ....
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
22
22
Nov 26, 2017
11/17
Nov 26, 2017
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 22
favorite 0
comment 0
Tasa's Song by Linda Kass is a story of a young musician in WWII Poland. I met the author at "A Book in Concert" where she read excerpts interspersed with musical performances by the Carpe Diem String Quartet . They played classical music that Tasa would have played herself, and they played the original piece "Tasa's Song," written by Charles Weatherbee as a tribute to the book. Linda is not only an author, she's also a bookseller! If you're ever in Bexley, Ohio, visit her...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
21
21
Nov 26, 2017
11/17
Nov 26, 2017
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 21
favorite 0
comment 0
The Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA rescues Yiddish books and puts them in context to broaden our understanding of modern Jewish identity. This June I visited the Yiddish Book Center, where I spoke to Communications Director Lisa Newman, and to Christa Whitney, director of the center's Wexler Oral History Project . They both offered exciting backstage views of the Yiddish Book Center, and they even helped me clear up an old family linguistic mystery! By the way, here's a link to Lisa's...
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
36
36
Nov 26, 2017
11/17
Nov 26, 2017
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 36
favorite 1
comment 0
In My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew , Abigail Pogrebin takes readers on a journey through every single Jewish holiday ever. As a non-Orthodox Jew, many of these holidays were unfamiliar to her before this; she explains these holidays and finds meaning in them at the same time. Abigail last appeared on The Book of Life in October 2006 , talking about her book Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish . https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2017/09/my-jewish-year.html
Topics: Jewish, podcast, books
27
27
Nov 26, 2017
11/17
Nov 26, 2017
by
Heidi Rabinowitz
audio
eye 27
favorite 0
comment 0
The Last Shepherd by Evil Sun Productions is a Hebrew-language indie comedy adventure scifi fantasy film with elements of Jewish mysticism and kabbalah, made in Israel. To summarize, "A geeky programmer and his rebellious co-worker are taken by a mysterious biblical figure on a cross country adventure, trying to stop an ancient evil force, while being chased by government agents." Back in January 2016, I Skyped with actors Uri Lifshitz and Roni Weissman, writer Gai Bosco, and post...
Topics: podcast, Jewish, books
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11
